Filing a Motion for Contempt: Family Law Cases Instructions and Forms May 2016
Contents Section 1: Introduction... 1 A. How much does a Motion for Contempt cost?... 1 B. Where should I file my motion?... 2 C. What if the other party is in the military or the dependent of someone in the military?... 2 D. What if I have questions that this packet does not answer?... 2 Section 2: Words and Expressions You Should Know... 3 Section 3: How to File and Argue a Motion for Contempt... 5 Section 4: Forms in this Packet... 8 A. You will need these forms:... 8 B. You may also need:... 8 Section 5: What Else Will I Need That is not in This Packet?... 8 Section 6: Follow These Instructions before Filling out any Forms... 9 Section 7: How to Fill Out Each Form... 14 A. Motion for Contempt Hearing FL All Family 165... 14 B. Order to go to Court for Contempt Hearing - FL All Family 166... 14 C. Notice of Appearance FL All Family 118... 15 D. Contempt Hearing Order After Contempt Hearing - FL All Family 167... 15 Section 8: Forms You May Need in This Packet... 18 A. Declaration of: FL All Family 135... 18 B. Confidential Information Form and Attachment - FL All Family 012... 20 C. Sealed Personal Health Care Records (Cover Sheet) FL All Family 012... 21 D. Sealed Confidential Reports (Cover Sheet) FL All Family 013... 22 Table of Contents Page 1
E. Sealed Financial Source Documents FL All Family 011... 22 Section 9: How to File and Serve Papers... 23 A. Filing your Motion with the Court and Asking the Judge to Sign Your Order... 23 B. Getting Ready to Serve Your Order to Go to Court for Contempt Hearing and Related Papers... 24 C. Instructions for Personal Service in Washington... 26 D. If You Do not Serve the Other Parties on Time... 28 Section 10: Getting Ready for Your Hearing... 28 A. Working Papers and Confirming Your Hearing... 28 Section 11: Blank Forms... 31 This publication provides general information concerning your rights and responsibilities. It is not intended as a substitute for specific legal advice. This information is current as of May 2016. 2016 Northwest Justice Project 1-888-201-1014. (Permission for copying and distribution granted to the Alliance for Equal Justice and to individuals for noncommercial use only.) Table of Contents Page 2
Section 1: Introduction This packet should help you fill out and file the forms and papers you need if: you already have a temporary or permanent parenting plan, child support order, or other family law order AND you want the court in the same Washington county to issue an order holding the other party in contempt for violating it Read this packet with our publication Contempt of Court in Family Law Cases The Basics. You will see footnotes in this packet. They tell the law or court case supporting the footnoted statement, or give special tips, links to websites, or other information. Use the footnotes to look up the law at your local law library, or to tell the court when you are trying to make a legal argument. CR is the Civil Rules of Washington. GR stands for General Rules. RCW stands for Revised Code of Washington, the law of Washington State. Court cases have names, such as In re Custody of Child. The references to the law are up to date as of the date we published this packet. The law sometimes changes before we can update the packet. Before using this packet, talk with a lawyer. See What If I Have Questions? below for free and reduced-cost referrals. Even if you cannot afford to pay one to handle your case for you, a lawyer may advise you about important legal rights that your motion may affect. Example: if you file for contempt, the other party may file for contempt against you or may file to modify (change) earlier court orders in your case. If you file for contempt, the court may not give you what you ask for. It may instead grant the other party s requests. Another example: your parenting plan requires you to use a dispute resolution procedure before you return to court. A lawyer can advise you about how to do this, and whether it is wise to file for contempt or whether there are better choices. If the Division of Child Support (DCS) is handling collection of your child support, ask them about the possibility of a contempt motion for back due child support. They will do much of the paperwork, file the case, serve the other party, and help the case move through the court. The prosecutor will not be your lawyer (and will not represent either parent). The prosecutor will represent the child s interest in support and the State s interest in child support that may be due to it if the children got public assistance. Asking for the State s help may also delay the filing of your case. The prosecutor will have to agree with any final settlement you want to make with the other party. A. How much does a Motion for Contempt cost? Many counties charge copying fees, and (sometimes) fees for service (delivering the papers to the other parent or other parties). Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 1
You should not have to pay any new filing fee. The contempt motion is part of your existing case in the same court. B. Where should I file my motion? In most cases you should file your motion in the Superior Court of the county that entered your original court order. This packet covers only this type of case. If you decide to file in another county, or you are trying to enforce an order from another state or from an administrative law judge, you must take extra steps and file extra papers to register your original order. You must also pay the filing fee for new cases or go through the steps to have the court waive the filing fee. C. What if the other party is in the military or the dependent of someone in the military? If the other party is a member on active duty in the military, 1 or the dependent 2 of a service member who is a Washington resident on active duty and a National Guard member or Reservist, talk to a lawyer before filing your request with the court. There are special rules for members of the military and certain dependents that may limit the court s ability to make any orders adversely affecting the service member s or protected dependent s rights. D. What if I have questions that this packet does not answer? Talk to a lawyer familiar with family law before filing anything with the court. Many counties have family law facilitators who can help you fill out forms or free legal clinics where you may get legal advice about your case. Do you live in King County? Call 211. 211 is open Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. From a pay/public phone, call 1-800-621-4636. 211 will identify and refer you to the appropriate legal aid provider. Apply online with CLEAR*Online - https://nwjustice.org/get-legal-help Call the CLEAR Legal Hotline at 1-888-201-1014. 1 Service members protected by the federal Service Members Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C. App. Sections 501 et seq. include all members on Federal active duty, including regular members of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard); Reserve, National Guard and Air National Guard personnel who have been activated and are on Federal active duty (whether as volunteers or as a result of involuntary activation); inductees serving with the armed forces; Public Health Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Officers detailed for duty with the armed forces; persons who are training or studying under the supervision of the United States preliminary to induction; and National Guard and Air National Guard personnel on duty for training or other duty authorized by 32 U.S.C. 502(f) at the request of the President, for or in support of an operation during a war or national emergency declared by the President or Congress. U.S. Coast Guard Legal Assistance Service Members Civil Relief Act Guide at http://www.uscg.mil/legal/la/legal_assistance_scra_guide.asp. For Washington State s Service Members Civil Relief Act, see RCW 38.42.010 et seq. Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 2
Section 2: Words and Expressions You Should Know Attachment: A document stapled to a court form and referred to in the form. Attachments should follow the format rules for court forms. (Basic information about the format rules is in the General Instructions of this packet.) Bailiff: The member of the judge s staff in charge of courtroom procedure and security. The bailiff may sometimes be the same person as the clerk. Calendar: The court s schedule of cases to be heard; also called a Docket. Caption: The heading of each legal document, which contains the name of the court, the names of the parties, the case number, the name of the document itself, and sometimes, the type of case. Certified Copy: A copy of a document from the court file made by the court clerk that has an official stamp on it stating it is a true copy. Usually, you must pay for a certified copy. Clerk of the Court: An officer of the court who handles clerical matters like keeping records, entering judgments and providing certified copies. In each courthouse, there is a Superior Court Clerk s Office. Someone from the clerk s office staff is also usually in the courtroom during hearings. Commissioner/Court Commissioner: This person is similar to a judge, but only makes decisions relating to a specific subject matter. Many counties have family law commissioners who decide cases only about family law 2. Confirm a Hearing or Trial: Notifying the court that you still plan to have the hearing or trial scheduled in your case. The way to confirm your hearing or trial differs from county to county, and is not required in all counties. Often a phone call to the court a few days before the hearing or trial is required. Local rules explain each county s requirements. If notice is required and not given, the hearing or trial may be cancelled. Conformed Copy: A copy of any court document that s been filed with the clerk. It must be stamped with the date filed. If the document is an order, it must also have the name of the judge who signed it written or stamped on it. Continuance: Delaying your court hearing to a later date. In some counties, the judge must approve any request for a continuance. Custodian: The person the children live with most of the time. DCS: Division of Child Support. The state office (part of DSHS) that establishes, enforces and sometimes modifies child support obligations in many cases. DCS used to be called CSD, OSE and SED. Declaration: A written statement made to the court under oath. 2 Many decisions in family law cases are made by court commissioners instead of judges. To make this packet simpler, in most places we just use judge. Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 3
Default: The failure to respond to court papers within the legal deadline Docket: The court s schedule of cases to be heard on a particular day. Exhibit: Documents, records, and photographs introduced into evidence at trial or hearing. Attachments to legal forms might also be called exhibits, and if so, they should follow the format rules for court forms. (Basic information about the format rules is in the General Instructions section of this packet.). Ex Parte: Going before the court without notifying the other party. Sometimes also refers to the courtroom where you see a judge without notifying the other party. Filing: Giving court papers to the Court Clerk to place in the case file. Hearing: Going before a judge to request a court order or to defend against another party s request. Hearings usually take place before the trial date and concern specific issues for example, temporary relief. In many counties the court limits or does not allow live witness testimony at hearings, but the parties are expected to file and serve materials in advance in writing. Jurisdiction: The court s authority to make decisions about certain people and issues. If a court does not have jurisdiction, it does not have the authority to make orders over the person or subject affected. Maintenance: (used to be called alimony ): The amount one spouse is ordered to pay for the support of the other spouse while the case is pending and/or after it s over. RCW 26.09.090 lists some factors to use when deciding if maintenance if is to be ordered and, if so, in what amount and for how long. RCW 26.09.060 authorizes the court to order temporary maintenance where appropriate Motion: A formal request to the court for an order. Motion Docket: The court s schedule of motions to be heard. Notice of Appearance: A paper filed with the court and served on the other parties showing that a party wants to participate in the case and where to send papers filed about the case in the future. Order: A court document signed by a judge that requires someone to do or not do something. Restraining orders, orders on adequate cause, parenting plans, or Findings and Conclusions, are all examples of orders, if the judge has signed them. If you disobey an order of the court, you may be held in contempt of court. It s important to notice if an order you are served with is only a proposed order or if the judge has actually signed it. An order is not in effect until a judge has signed it. (See proposed order definition.) Other party: Every party to the case, other than yourself. In court forms, the other party can also mean one particular party. For example when the Motion for Default says other party, it means the party you believe is in default. Personal Service: Giving court papers to the other party personally, by having someone 18 or over who is not a party to the case hand the papers to the other party or, where the law allows, deliver them to another person of suitable age and discretion who lives with them at their home. Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 4
Petition for contempt: The document that begins a court case when the order being enforced is from an administrative agency or from another county. These types of cases are not discussed here talk with an attorney if this is your situation. Petitioner: The person who first files the legal case. The petitioner in the caption of a form does not change even when motions are filed later by the other party Proposed Order: A document one party will be asking the judge to sign. It won t yet have the judge s signature on it. Many counties require the parties to file and serve proposed orders with motions or responses to motions to show how that party wants the court to decide the motion. Even where proposed orders are not required, we recommend that you prepare and serve them and deliver copies to the court. A proposed order becomes an order if the judge signs it. Pro Se: Acting without a lawyer; representing yourself in court. Public Defender: An attorney paid by the State of Washington to represent low income people in certain kinds of criminal cases, and some civil contempt cases. Respondent: The person against whom a legal case was originally filed. Response: A formal written answer to a Petition filed with the court. The term can also be used to describe the papers a person files in response to a motion. It can be confusing. Restraining Order: A court order to prevent a party from doing some act that may harm the other party or child. Ruling: A decision by the court. Service: Giving court papers to the other party. The law defines the ways of service that are legally correct. Temporary Family Law Order: An order entered after a case is filed and before it is finished which is only in effect while the case is going on. In some counties, temporary family law orders may end at a fixed time, even before the case ends. Time to Respond (or deadline to respond): The length of time a party has to respond to something filed by another party. The length of time to file a Response to a Summons is 20 to 90 days after service, depending upon the type and location of service. The length of time to respond to motions is usually much shorter. Transfer Payment: The amount of money one parent is ordered to pay as that parent s share of basic child support. Section 3: How to File and Argue a Motion for Contempt This section lists in order the steps for filing a Motion for Contempt. Use this checklist as you go through your case. We explain many of the steps in more detail later in this packet. 1. Learn About Contempt Law in Washington. If you are filing on your own, try to learn more about Washington laws. Go to the website www.washingtonlawhelp.org. Read our publication called Contempt of Court in Family Law Cases The Basics. Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 5
Contempt is not always the right or best solution, even if someone is violating a court order. Filing for contempt may also put you at risk of defending a contempt motion or a motion to modify. 2. Check for and use Special Local Forms, Procedures and Rules. Learn about Local Requirements. Local court requirements will affect how you handle your case. Many counties have special forms or have local rules you must follow. Many counties require case schedules, classes, or settlement conferences. You must learn and follow local court requirements. Ask the court clerk or family law facilitator (if there is one) for the court where your case is filed about these local requirements. Tell them the kind of family law case you have (examples: contempt, a motion for ). Requirements may differ, depending on your case type or stage. Read your local court rules. They are available at your county s law library and often online at http://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/?fa=court_rules.local&group=superior Look at the Words and Expressions you should Know section of this packet if you do not know words used here. Find out about at least the following: o whether the county has its own packets or forms for your type of family law case. If so, use those instead of ours. If you use our packet, get any other local forms you will need o whether case schedules are used (and whether the court requires the person filing the case to serve the schedule on the other parties) whether your county allows parties and/or witnesses to testify at the hearing and, if so, what you need to do before the hearing to get permission to testify sometimes called live or oral testimony - and to subpoena witnesses how much advance notice of the contempt hearing you must give the other party 3. Make Sure You Know Who You Must Serve or is a Party. The caption of the order you are trying to enforce should show all parties. The party you believe is in contempt may be the only other party. If the motion affects child support and your child has ever gotten TANF or Medicaid, or is in foster care or out-of-home placement, or DCS is trying to collect support in your case, you must serve copies on the State of Washington. (Our packet Serving Papers on the State explains how.) If someone besides a parent has custody of a child in the parenting plan, that person may also be a party. You must also serve the GAL or evaluator if there is one in your case. 4. Make sure you know how to find the other parties. You must know where the other parties can be found (home address, or place or work, for example) to arrange to serve them with your papers. 5. Get a certified copy of the court order you are trying to enforce. You can get it at the Superior Court Clerk s office in the county of the court that decided your case. Read Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 6
that order carefully. Make sure it clearly states the duty the other party has violated. Make sure you are meeting your own responsibilities under the order. Make sure there is no later order changing the order you want to enforce. Make sure the order has not ended. (Many restraining orders end on a certain date or when the court enters final orders.) 6. Fill out the Forms for Filing for Contempt. 7. Make the Needed Copies of Each Completed Form you are filing with the court. 8. Go to the courthouse to: File your papers with the Superior Court Clerk Get the judge s signature on the Order to Go to Court for Contempt Hearing (Order to Show Cause) Get a certified copy of the order you are trying to enforce from the clerk (this will cost a few dollars) Have the clerk conform copies of all the documents you are filing 9. Organize your copies for service. 10. Arrange to serve the Papers on the Other Parties. If you do not have the other party personally served, your motion may not be able to go forward. Do not serve the papers yourself. If the State is a party to your case or DCS is collecting or trying to collect support in your case, and your Motion for Contempt concerns child support, make sure you serve DCS with the papers. Our packet Serving Papers on the State explains how. 11. File the Completed Proof of Personal Service after the papers have been served. 12. Deliver working papers and confirm the hearing if your county requires it. 13. Wait until the Other Party s Time to File a Response to Your Motion ends. Read whatever they file. In a Motion for Contempt, the other party has several days to file and serve a response to your motion. What the other party files will help you decide what you must do to finish your motion. 14. Read any response or other documents the other party has served you with. File your own documents in reply, if your county permits it. 15. Go to your hearing. Fill out the Contempt Hearing Order to correctly describe the judge s decision on your motion. Have the judge sign that order. File it with the court. Get a copy to the other party. 16. Decide whether to ask for Revision, if necessary. See Section 10. Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 7
Section 4: Forms in this Packet A. You will need these forms: Form Title Form Number Motion for Contempt Hearing FL All Family 165 Order to Go to Court for Contempt Hearing FL All Family 166 Contempt Hearing Order FL All Family 167 Notice of Appearance FL All Family 118 Proof of Personal Service FL All Family 101 B. You may also need: Form Title Form Number Declaration of: FL All Family 135 Confidential Information Form and FL All Family 001 & FL All Family 002 Attachment Sealed Personal Health Care Records FL All Family 012 Sealed Confidential Reports FL All Family 013 Sealed Financial Source Documents FL All Family 011 Section 5: What Else Will I Need That is not in This Packet? You may need other packets and forms for the motion. It depends on the facts of your case. Read the following list. Check the other packets you think you will need. Get those documents or packets before filling out your forms. Download our other packets from www.washingtonlawhelp.org before filing your forms for this packet. Local County Court Forms and Rules - Some counties have other special forms you will need. They are not in this packet. Most will have local rules you need to know about to file your motion. Check with the Court Clerk or Family Law Facilitator in your county for more information. Some county clerk s offices have forms and local rules available online. Check whether yours are online at the OAC website: http://www.courts.wa.gov/rules/local.cfm?group=superior. Contempt of Court in a Family Law Case: The Basics: This publication has general information about the law concerning contempt in family law cases. It covers only the type of contempt most commonly used in family law cases, called coercive civil contempt. Subpoenaing Witnesses and Documents: If you are going to an evidentiary hearing or trial where there can be live testimony, and you need to make sure a witness shows up, or someone brings documents or other items, you can have the person served with a subpoena issued by the court clerk. Before using this packet, find out whether the court Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 8
will allow live witness testimony at your contempt hearing. Working Copies: If your court rules require you to serve working papers or working copies. You may want to use this publication even if your county does not require them. Serving Papers on the State: If any party is asking for a child support order, and any of the children has gotten TANF or medical coupons/medicaid, or is in foster care or outof-home placement. You must include the state as a party and serve them with papers you file. Notice of Address Change (FL All Family 120): If you move during or after your case. Fill out this Notice, file it with the court, and get all other parties a copy. Download this form at http://courts.wa.gov/forms. We offer many other publications, in family law and other areas. Visit www.washingtonlawhelp.org for a complete listing of publications. Section 6: Follow These Instructions before Filling out any Forms These general instructions will apply to all the forms you use. The instructions cover all types of family law cases. You may not use some of this information in your case. A Sample form at the end of this section may help you understand these instructions better. The caption. The caption includes the name of your case, the case number, the name of the court, the title of the court paper, and sometimes, the type of case. It appears at the top of the first page of every form. Use the caption on the order you are trying to enforce. Name of the court. Put the name of the county where the case was filed in the blank space where the form reads "Superior Court of Washington County of." Case name. Copy the case name from the order you are trying to enforce. Case number. When petitioner first files the papers to start the case and pays the filing fee (or has the fee waived), the court clerk assigns a case number. You must put that case number on every paper you file with the court and serve on the other parties during the case. Put the case number near the top on the right-hand section of the first page of every form after "No." (abbreviation for number ) When petitioner first files the case, s/he may be able to use a special stamp at the court clerk s counter to stamp the case number on each paper. You may write or stamp the case number. If you are filing your case in the same court that entered the order you think the other person is in contempt of, use the case number on that order. You must write or stamp the case number on the first page of every copy of every paper you file with the court and the copies you make for other parties. If you do not, your papers may be lost, or the clerk may return them to you. Some courts will fine you for filing incorrect forms. Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 9
Title. Each form has a title. It is on the right-hand side of the form under the case number. Sometimes the full title is on the form. Sometimes you must add more information to finish it. (Example: On a declaration, you put the name of the person filling out the declaration.) Format: Pleadings (legal forms) you file with the court and attachments to those pleadings must follow the court rules about size and margins (GR 14(a)). You must use regular size (8 ½ x 11 ) white paper. You may write on only one side of the paper. The first page of each paper that you file must have a three-inch margin (three inches of space) at the top. The other margins (left, right and bottom, and the top from the second page on) must be at least one-inch wide. Use black or dark blue ink. If your forms do not follow these rules, the court clerk may refuse to file them or may make you pay a fine. The contents. Fill out each form according to the instructions for that form. In most counties, you may print or type the information. It must be readable. You must use BLACK OR DARK BLUE INK. A few counties require you to type all documents. After filling out each form, re-read it. Make sure you have correctly filled in all blanks you need to. Any corrections must be neat and readable. Do not write in the margins of any page. The clerk may reject your form. Dates. On the last page of most forms (not including orders), there is a space for the person who filled the form out to put the date they signed it. The judge will fill in dates in orders when s/he signs the order. Signatures. Your Signature: After you fill out a form, look for the place(s) to sign your name: Some forms have one signature line for petitioner or respondent. After you fill out a form such as the petition, sign at the place that applies to you. Look carefully. You may have to sign in more than one place. You may have to put the date and the place (city, state) you signed the form. When you prepare and file motions, you are the moving party. After you prepare a motion, look for each place marked signature of moving party or lawyer. Look carefully. You may have to sign in more than one place. You may have to put the date and the place (city, state) you signed the form. When you prepare an order and plan to present it for the judge to sign, look for the place at the end for your signature. Check is presented by me. Judge s Signature: Leave the judge s signature line and the date blank. Other party s signature: Some forms have a place for other parties to sign. You cannot force another party to sign a court paper. S/he can choose (not) to sign. If you have prepared an order after a hearing, the other party may be willing to sign it if s/he agrees it accurately states the judge s decisions (or the judge may require the other party to sign), even if the party is not happy with the decision itself. Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 10
Agreed orders. If the other party agrees with the orders you have written, s/he should sign in the right place on each court order s/he agrees to. May be signed by the court without notice to me. If you are the respondent or nonmoving party, or if you did not prepare the order, the other party may ask you to check this box and sign underneath. If you do, you are agreeing the judge should sign the order as written AND the other party can give the order to the judge to sign without letting you know when they are going to do it. Other signatures: If someone else (a witness or the person serving papers) must sign a form, they must fill out all information correctly and sign in the right space. Place signed. Declarations and Proofs of Personal Service must include the place you signed them and the date. (Example: Signed this 10th day of October 2014 at Seattle, WA.) Identifying Information. Court rules try to protect privacy but also allow for public access to some information in court files. The three boxes discuss these rules: GR (General Rule) 15, GR 22 and GR 31. Box #1 - Things to Not Put in Most Court Papers: Court General Rules 22 & 31 try to protect privacy in family law cases. Almost all pleadings, orders, and other papers filed with the court are available to the public. They may also be publicly available online. Except where instructions about a specific form tell you otherwise (example: the forms in Box #3), use these rules for papers you file with the court. Address (Where you live) and Phone Number: You must put an address where you can get mail from the court. (It does not have to be your home address.) You should also give the court a phone number where they can reach you. Social Security/Driver s License, ID Numbers of Adults and Children: If you put these in court papers, put only the last four digits, not the whole number. Bank Account, Credit Card Numbers: Put the bank name, type of account (savings, checking, and so on), and only the last four digits of the account number. Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 11
Box #2 - Private Information to File With Sealed Cover Sheets: If you use a sealed cover sheet, this information is usually available to the other party and the court. It is not available to the public. Financial Information: If you file paystubs, checks, loan applications, tax returns, credit card statements, check registers, W-2 forms, bank statements, or retirement plan orders, attach them to a Sealed Financial Source Documents form. Then the public cannot access them. Medical or Mental Health Records or Information: If you file papers that have health or mental health information (information about someone s past, present, or future physical or mental health, including insurance or payment records), you must attach the papers to a Sealed Personal Health Care Records form. Then the public cannot access them. Confidential Reports: Reports intended for court use must have a public section and a private section. You should attach the private section of the report to a Sealed Confidential Reports Cover Sheet. Retirement Plan Orders: Certain retirement information belongs in the public file. Retirement Plan Orders do not. Use the Sealed Financial Source Documents Cover Sheet for the Retirement Plan Order. See GR 22, or see a lawyer if this affects your case. Other Kinds of Confidential or Embarrassing Information Not Mentioned Above. If the paper you want kept confidential is not in the above list, you may need to file a motion with the court to asking to have that paper, or part of it, sealed under General Rule (GR) 15. There is no packet for this. There are presently no mandatory forms for this type of motion. Talk to a lawyer. Box #3 - When to Put Private Information in Court Forms: These forms are not in the public file. Information in them is usually not available to the other party. You must fill in your personal information completely (including your home address, social security number and so on): Confidential Information Form, Vital Statistics Form, Domestic Violence Information Form, and Law Enforcement Information Sheet. Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 12
This case type is for a divorce. Yours may be different. Put the county where you are filing this form. Superior Court of Washington, County of In re the marriage of: Petitioner (person who started this case): No. Put the case number. The court clerk assigns this number when the Petitioner files the case. Jane Brown And Respondent (other spouse): John Brown Notice of Hearing (NTHG) Clerk s action required: 1 This is the form s title. To the Court Clerk and all parties: Sample Form - Notice of Hearing 1. A court hearing has been scheduled: for: May 15, 2016 at: 9:30 a.m. p.m. date time at: 1234 Maple Street in 15 court s address room or department Judge Anne Smith docket / calendar or judge / commissioner s name 2. The purpose of this hearing is (specify):temporary Family Law Orders regarding a parenting plan and child support. Warning! If you do not go to the hearing, the court may sign orders without hearing your side. This hearing was requested by: Petitioner or his/her lawyer Respondent or his/her lawyer Jane Brown Jane Brown 5/1/16 Person asking for this hearing signs here Print name (if lawyer, also list WSBA No.) Date I agree to accept legal papers for this case at: This does not have to be your home address. If this address 5252 A Street changes before the case ends, you must notify all parties and address the court clerk in writing. You may use the Notice of Address Treelane WA 98888 Change form (FL All Family 120). A party must also update city state zip his/her Confidential Information form (FL All Family 001) if this case involves parentage or child support. (Optional) email: jbrown@email.com Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 13
Section 7: How to Fill Out Each Form This form A. Motion for Contempt Hearing FL All Family 165 explains why the person is in contempt shows your requests to the court Caption. Fill out the caption. 1. Check the box showing which party you are. 2. In the first blank, put the other party s name. In the second blank, put the date the court entered the order the other party has violated. In the third blank, put that court s county and state. Then check the boxes and fill in the blanks that apply. If you check child support order, you must check all boxes underneath that apply. 3. Request. Do not make any changes to this section. 4. Money judgment requested. Check the first box and skip to 5 if you do not want a money judgment. Otherwise, check the second box. Then check all the boxes underneath and fill in boxes as appropriate to show what you want. You must fill in the dates for which the support/maintenance/other obligation is due. If DCS has tried to collect support for you or if anyone in your family gets TANF, DCS can give you this information. 5. Fines and penalties requested. Check the first box and skip to 6 if you do not want the judge to fine or penalize the other party. Otherwise, check the boxes that apply. Courts usually only order jail time in serious cases, or where it has previously found the person in contempt. If you ask for imprisonment, and the other party cannot afford to hire a lawyer, s/he is entitled to a court-appointed lawyer at a hearing that might result in jail. As the party making the motion, you are NOT eligible for a court-appointed lawyer. 6. Other orders requested. Most people will not use this space. Person making this motion fills out below. In the first blank, put where you are signing this form. In the second blank, put the date you are signing. Sign where indicated and then print or type your name in the blank to that. B. Order to go to Court for Contempt Hearing - FL All Family 166 The court will sign this form to schedule your contempt hearing. Caption. Fill in the caption. 1. Findings. 2. The court orders. Print the other party s name. Leave the date, time, place, and Room/Department lines blank, unless the court clerk or facilitator gives you a specific date. The judge usually fills in this information. Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 14
If you have a choice about the hearing date, choose one that gives you enough time to have the other party served. (Example: Your county requires six court days advance notice to the other party of a hearing. You are not sure you can have the party served immediately. You might want to set the hearing date fourteen days away to give your server enough time to complete service of process.) 3. Other orders (if any). Leave this for the judge to fill in. Presented by: sign your name above Signature. Print your name on the next line. C. Notice of Appearance FL All Family 118 You must use this form to tell the other party where they should send you notice about the case. Caption. Fill in the caption. 1. Print your name. 2. Do not make any changes to this section. 3. Put your mailing address. If you are afraid to give your address to the other party, use a different mailing address. Make sure it is one where you will know immediately if papers arrive about your case. Date the form and sign where it says Sign Here. Then put the date. If the mailing address you use in the Notice of Appearance later changes, you must file a Notice of Address Change, FL All Family 120, available at http://www.courts.wa.gov/forms. File this notice with the court and provide a copy to the other parties. Use the Proof of Mailing or Hand Delivery form, FL All Family 112, and procedure 3 to show notice has been given. D. Contempt Hearing Order After Contempt Hearing - FL All Family 167 If your county requires it, you must do these things before the hearing: prepare a proposed order give the other parties a copy of the proposed order Deliver a copy of the proposed order as part of the working papers Take a blank copy of this Order with you to court. If you prepare a proposed order before the hearing, use the information in your Motion to help you state what you want the judge to order. Fill out the form to show the decision you want the judge to make. 3 The Proof of Mailing or Hand Delivery form, FL All Family 112 and instructions are in the packet Responding to a Motion for Contempt. It is not in this packet. Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 15
Otherwise, you will fill out this form to put the judge s decision in writing. Usually the person who wins at the hearing will presents an order for the judge to sign on the day of the contempt hearing. Caption. fill in the caption. If the court entered a judgment or set a review date, check Clerk s action required. 1. Money Judgment Summary. This section is a summary of money judgments. This might include money owed for back support, or attorney's or GAL fees, or any other money the court orders paid because of the contempt. Check the first box and skip to 2 if you are not entering a money judgment. Otherwise, check the second box. Come back to this section after filling in section 8. When you do, fill in this section to reflect what you put in 8. In the blanks for from to directly under any box you check, put the dates the money is owed for. 2. In the blank, put the contempt hearing date. 3. Support payments. Check the first box if and skip to 4 if the hearing did not cover child support issues. Check the second box if no one is violating the child support order. Check the third box if the judge found one of you in contempt on child support issues. In the first blank, put the name of the person in violating the child support order. In the next blank, put the date of the child support order. Then check all the boxes immediately underneath that apply. a. Ability to follow orders in the past - Check the box that applies. (If you are writing a proposed order, in the blanks put your explanation about the party s past ability to comply.) b. Ability to follow orders now - Check the box that applies. (If you are writing a proposed order, in the blanks put your explanation about the party s past ability to comply.) 4. Parenting Plan, Residential Schedule, or Custody Order. Check the first box and skip to 5 if the hearing did not cover custody or parenting issues. Check the second box if no one is violating the parenting/custody order. Check the third box if the judge found one of you in contempt on parenting/custody issues. In the first blank, put the name of the person in contempt on parenting/custody issues. In the next blank, put the date of the parentingcustody order. Then check all the boxes immediately underneath that apply. a. Ability to follow orders in the past - Check the box that applies in your case. (If you are writing a proposed order, you will want to check the first box.) b. Bad faith If this is your proposed order, check the first box. Otherwise, check the box showing what the judge ordered. c. Ability to follow orders now - Check the box that applies in your case. You ought to be able to truthfully check is not able. (If you are writing a proposed order, in the blanks put your explanation about the party s past ability to comply.) 5. Restraining Order or Other Order. Check the first box and skip to 6 if the hearing did not cover a restraining or other order. Check the second box if no one is violating the Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 16
restraining or other order. Check the third box if the judge found one of you is in contempt of a restraining or other order. In the first blank, put the name of the person in contempt of the restraining order or other order. In the next blank, put the date of the restraining or other order. Then check all the boxes immediately underneath that apply. 6. Lawyer Fees and Costs. Check the first box and skip to 7 if the hearing did not cover lawyer fees and costs. Check the second box if the court ordered payment of lawyer fees and costs. 7. Contempt. Put the name of the party who was the subject of the contempt hearing. Check the box showing what the judge ordered. 8. Money Judgment. Check the first box and skip to 9 if the hearing did not cover any money judgment. Check the second box if the judge did order any money judgment. Then check all the boxes underneath and fill in the blanks showing what the judge ordered. In the blanks for from to directly under any box you check, put the dates the money is owed for. 9. Make-up parenting time. Check the first box and skip to 10 if the hearing did not cover make-up parenting time. Check the second box if the court ordered make-up parenting time for someone. In the first short blank, put who is getting the make-up time. Under that, put the dates and times. 10. Jail time. Check the first box and skip to 11 if the hearing did not cover make-up parenting time. Check the second box if the court ordered jail time for someone. Fill in the blanks that follow. Check the first box immediately underneath that if the judge is suspending jail time and put in the blank the reason why. Otherwise, check jail time starts and fill out the rest of the section. 11. Contempt can be corrected if. Check the first box and skip to 12 if the judge did not find the person in contempt. Check the second box if the judge found contempt. Then, in the blanks, put who is in contempt, and then how the judge said the person could purge (cure) the contempt. Examples: the judge might have ordered payment of support, attending all review hearings, notifying the court of job searches, and so on. 12. Court review. Check the first box if the judge did not order a new hearing. Check the second box if the judge ordered the parties to return to court later to see if the order is being obeyed. Put the date and time of the next hearing. Ordered. DO NOT FILL THIS OUT. THE JUDGE DOES THAT. Petitioner and Respondent or their lawyers fill out below: There are two columns of boxes to check, one column for each party. You should is presented by me. You sign and print your name and the date where indicated. Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 17
Section 8: Forms You May Need in This Packet A. Declaration of: FL All Family 135 Use this form if you have people adding evidence to help you prove the other person is in contempt; or, after getting the other party s response, to add more evidence of your own or from another person. A Declaration is a statement, sworn to be the truth under penalty of perjury, by anyone with direct knowledge about the issues in your motion. People who might make declarations for you include family members, friends, teachers, counselors, or anyone else who has directly seen, heard, or otherwise witnessed important events in your case. The declaration should give the important facts this person adds to your case. Remember: at your hearing, you will not have much time to speak. The judge may not let you add facts in your case. You must explain all the important facts on the forms you file with the court. Some courts require allow live testimony. Others allow it on request. Others consider only written evidence. Find out your county s practice. If your county requires live testimony (or allows it and someone has requested it), you must have your witnesses present in court the day of the hearing. By presenting a declaration from a witness, you may be giving up the right to keep confidential other information that witness may have about you or the child/ren. 1. Some brief rules about witness Declarations The person making the declaration is the Declarant. Put the most important points at the start. Less important points should come later. The declarant should base his/her statement on his/her own personal knowledge (what s/he saw or experienced firsthand), not what someone else told the declarant. Exception: the declarant may talk about what one of the other parties has said. The declarant should explain how well s/he knows you or the people s/he is writing about, how often s/he sees the people, and in what situations. Example: Mr. Jones has worked for me at Acme Plumbing for 15 years. I see him almost every day at the office. Also, because our sons are on competing soccer teams, I have seen him coaching his son s games three or four times this season. He has invited me into his home a two or three times for dinner with his family over the years I have known him. The writer must type the declaration or print it neatly in black or dark blue ink. (A few courts require that you type all declarations.) If the declaration is hard to read, the judge may not try. Do not make the declaration too long. Stick to issues the judge will be deciding. Be specific on those issues. Example: in a parenting dispute, general statements, such as she is a bad mother, or the children are much happier now living with Mary, are not helpful. Instead, the declaration should describe specific things, and state when and where incidents Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 18
occurred. Example: I live on the same street as Joe. About a year ago, Joe knocked over our mailbox while driving. I ran out to the street to see what had happened. Joe was standing next to his car. I smelled liquor on his breath. I have seen him weaving down the road in his car three other times this year. In a child support dispute without parenting issues, the statement above may not be relevant to the issues before the court. If it is not relevant, do not include it. Attach extra pages to the declaration if you need more space. Extra pages should also have margins of at least one inch. You should number all the pages at the bottom. Some courts limit the number of pages you can file with a motion. Check your local rules, or ask the court clerk or facilitator. If you attach documents to declarations, such as printouts of bills, school records, medical or treatment records, police records, and so on, refer to them in the declaration and call the attached documents exhibits and number them Exhibit Number 1, Exhibit Number 2, and so on. If the papers you are attaching do not require a sealed cover sheet (see the General Instructions section), staple them to the declaration. If the papers you are attaching have personal medical or mental health information, or financial records, or confidential court reports, put an exhibit number or letter on each paper you are attaching. When the declarant mentions that paper, they should use that exhibit number or letter and put it is filed with the Sealed Personal Health Care Records cover sheet on (date). Do not staple the paper to the declaration. Attach it to the appropriate Sealed Cover Sheet form before you file and serve it. We describe the sealed cover sheet forms elsewhere in this packet. (Also see the General Instructions section about what to keep out of the public file.) 2. Filling out the Declaration form Caption. Fill out the caption and make as many copies of this form as you will need before adding any other information. This way, you will have blank forms with just the caption on them, so you may give a copy to each witness to fill out and have one for you to use, where necessary. On the right side of the caption, after declaration of, put the declarant s name. Do the same next to Declaration of under the caption. 1. In the first blank, put the declarant s name. In the second age, put the declarant s age. Check the box showing who the declarant is. If you check other, explain in the blank (examples: petitioner s friend, mother s counselor, child s daycare provider ). 2. I declare. The declarant should type or print neatly in black ink the information s/he wants to tell the judge. (A few courts require all declarations to be typed.) Follow the suggestions in section a. I declare under penalty The declarant must check the box and put the number of pages s/he is attaching if the declaration is longer than two pages. Filing a Motion for Contempt Page 19